


the guinea pig postulation

by starkly



Series: you've been thunderstruck [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Getting Together, M/M, Tutoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:13:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28185210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: Thor asks for some help with his physics homework. He's not wearing a shirt. Tony can't really say no.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Thor
Series: you've been thunderstruck [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064666
Comments: 4
Kudos: 91





	the guinea pig postulation

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for NaNoWriMo 2020 and [posted here](https://aleator.tumblr.com/post/633744841785933824) on my tumblr writing blog. This fic was proofread before being uploaded here but is otherwise unchanged.
> 
> Prompts taken from the AU-gust 2020 challenge list on Twitter. Day Two: College AU.

Tony has no idea what to do with a friend like Thor. He’s not even entirely sure they’re friends--they live in the same dorm, on the same floor, but if that’s all it takes to be qualified as a friend then Tony has a lot more friends than he realized.

At least once a week Thor locks himself out of the dorm building and texts Tony to let him in because he forgot his ID card. Last week Tony had to tell Thor he’d heard him...taking care of himself...in the shower earlier and could he please remember this is a shared bathroom, and Thor had just laughed and patted him on the back. He’s pretty sure Thor and his roommate have two guinea pigs hidden in their room despite the no pets allowed rule, and yet he always listens every time Thor asks him to smuggle a giant Tupperware’s worth of salad out of the dining hall.

So when Thor knocks on his door one day and says, “You’re in engineering, right?” Tony just stares at his shirtless chest and says,

“Uhhh.”

“I took physics for the lab credit,” Thor continues on, not waiting for a real answer, “but I’m having some trouble. Can you tutor me?”

And Tony, like on every other occasion, can’t seem to say no.

He at least gets Thor to put on a shirt, as disappointing as that is. But there’s no way Tony will be able to tutor Thor in anything if he’s shirtless the whole time, so it’s a sacrifice that has to be made.

“Can you do that one again and write out all the math?” Thor asks, tapping his pencil against the edge of his notebook. The two of them are sitting on the floor of Tony’s room, books and papers spread out around them.

Tony sighs and gets a clean piece of paper, going through the problem step by step and explaining it all to Thor again. Thor looks thoughtful, absently chewing on the end of his pencil, and Tony hopes even a sliver of this is getting through to him.

It takes them a couple hours, but they finally get through all of Thor’s physics homework. The way Thor smiles at him when he thanks him for the help, like Tony’s literally saved his life, is probably the reason Tony agrees to help him again the next time he has homework.

The next week Thor knocks on Tony’s door with his shirt still on and a pizza box in one hand.

“You take bribes, right?” Thor jokes, and the two of them sit on Tony’s floor again and eat pizza while Tony explains Thor’s homework to him.

The week after that Thor confirms Tony’s guinea pig hypothesis by bringing one over in his hoodie pocket. They have to keep stopping in the middle of doing equations to dig little Tanngrisnir out from under Tony’s bed or dresser as they let him roam free.

And so on it goes, Tony helping Thor study physics at least once a week without Thor even needing to ask anymore. They actually text outside of lockout incidents and Tony texts him to make sure he’s coming over, actually enjoying the time he gets to spend with Thor.

It’s nearing the end of the semester when he actually runs into Thor in the science building, having dropped off a last-minute paper in his advisor’s office. Thor’s talking to one of the physics professors while a girl Tony recognizes as Thor’s friend Jane is standing around waiting for him.

“Hey,” Tony says, stopping by Jane to see what’s up. “Everything okay with Thor?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, they’re just discussing some test.”

Tony nods a bit, then looks back at Jane with a furrow in his brow. “Wait, you’re a physics major, right? Why didn’t Thor ask you to tutor him?”

“Tutor him?” Jane repeats, looking amused. “Why would I need to tutor Thor?”

“So he doesn’t fail?”

Jane snorts. “He’s top of his class. I don’t think he’s worried about failing.”

While Tony stands there and silently tries to process this conversation, Thor finishes his own conversation with his professor and makes his way back over to Jane.

“Hey!” Tony exclaims, frowning. “You’re not failing physics?”

Thor freezes, expression comically alarmed, and Jane sighs. “I’ll leave you to whatever this is,” she says. “See you at dinner, Thor.”

Jane turns and starts to walk away, leaving Thor and Tony staring each other down. Thor doesn't say anything, so Tony just prompts him with, “Well?”

“To be fair, I never said I was failing,” Thor replies with a shrug, like this is all no big deal.

“Then why did you have me tutor you all semester!”

Finally Thor glances away, looking somewhat sheepish. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”

Tony squints suspiciously at him. “Try me.”

“I wanted to spend time with you,” Thor admits after a long pause. “None of my other ideas were working.”

“Making me bring your guinea pigs salad was your big idea?” Tony says, because he can’t quite wrap his head around what’s happening here. “So you...pretended to be bad at physics to get me to hang out with you? Did you...did you Mean Girls me?”

Thor shrugs again. “I don’t know what that means, but I assume yes.”

Tony laughs, the sound bubbling up slowly from his chest, unable to believe he’s been tricked into thinking Thor’s dumb for the sake of--what, being friends?

“You could have just asked me if you wanted to hang,” Tony points out.

“Actually, I wanted to ask if you’d go out with me, but I obviously failed at making that leap,” Thor says with far more confidence than anyone in his position right now ought to have, and it takes Tony aback for a moment.

“You--What?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” Thor asks more plainly, a hopeful smile on his face. “No physics involved.”

“I don’t know, the physics was kind of hot,” Tony says and smiles too when Thor laughs. “But yeah, I’d like that. Even without the physics.”

Maybe being friends with Thor isn’t so bad after all.


End file.
